K – 12

Happy 50th Birthday, Head Start

Head Start Commemorates 50 Year Commitment to Opportunity

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — On Monday, May 18th the National Head Start Association (NHSA) will join thousands of students, parents, teachers, lawmakers and community partners in celebrating Head Start's 50th Anniversary.

Exactly 50 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced the creation of Head Start from the White House Rose Garden, giving our nation's most vulnerable children access to a quality early childhood education. Since its creation in 1965, Head Start has improved the lives of 32 million children and their families, laying the foundation for lifetime success, both in school and in life. As the premier model for quality early learning, Head Start's comprehensive approach–which includes services such as home visits, health screenings, improved nutrition and two generation efforts–gets children ready for kindergarten and sets families on a stable path toward self-sufficiency.

The Head Start community will commemorate this historic milestone by planting rose bushes across the country, inviting Members of Congress to visit local Head Start centers, and hosting an array of celebratory events to recognize Head Start's incredible 50 years of success. NHSA joins these Head Start centers in renewing the nation's shared commitment to expanding access to quality early learning.

Monday, May 18th will serve as a crescendo to an invigorating yearlong celebration of Head Start. Among the highlights was NHSA's Anniversary Conference, where Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell gave a keynote speech revealing her own inspirational story as a Head Start child. Hundreds of new alumni joined Secretary Burwell this year in proudly identifying themselves as Head Start graduates, and sharing their stories with the nation. NHSA has also forged new and exciting partnerships with a number of organizations, including Nike, Lakeshore Learning and the Crayon Collection.

"Over the past 50 years Head Start has represented our nation's shared commitment to ensuring every child has the opportunity to reach for the American Dream," said NHSA Executive Director Yasmina Vinci. "As we celebrate 50 years of success, and 32 million lives transformed by Head Start, let's all renew our commitment to 50 more years of ensuring all our children, regardless of circumstance at birth, are given a chance at success."

SOURCE National Head Start Association

April 3, 2014

Caucasian Boys Show Highest Prevalence of Color Blindness Among Preschoolers

African-Americans have lowest rate of color blindness among young males

SAN FRANCISCO, April 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — The first major study of color blindness in a multi-ethnic group of preschoolers has uncovered that Caucasian male children have the highest prevalence among four major ethnicities, with 1 in 20 testing color blind. Researchers also found that color blindness, or color vision deficiency, in boys is lowest in African-Americans, and confirmed that girls have a much lower prevalence of color blindness than boys. The study is being published online today in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Despite the name, color blindness is not a type of blindness, but an inability to see colors accurately. The most common form of color blindness is genetic and involves a mutation or lack of genes that help the eye see red or green. People with this form of color blindness cannot tell the difference between the two colors. As this can negatively impact performance in school, early diagnosis of color deficiency is important so that parents and teachers of color blind children are aware and able to provide adaptive learning tools and strategies for these children.

Researchers from the Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Disease Study Group tested 4,005 California preschool children age 3 to 6 in Los Angeles and Riverside counties for color blindness. They found the following prevalence by ethnicity for boys:

5.6 percent of Caucasian boys

3.1 percent of Asian boys

2.6 percent for Hispanic boys

1.4 percent of African-American boys

The prevalence of color blindness in girls measured 0 percent to 0.5 percent for all ethnicities, confirming findings in prior studies. However, the numbers were so low overall for girls that researchers say they cannot statistically compare rates between females among the four ethnicities studied.

While the researchers found that children at the youngest ages could not accurately complete testing, they say the findings suggest that successful color vision screening can begin at age 4. Many times children with color blindness will perform poorly on tests or assignments that employ color coded materials, leading color blind children to be inappropriately classified by ability at school, said the study's principal investigator Rohit Varma, M.D., chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine and director of the USC Eye Institute.

"It's not that the child is not smart enough or bright enough, it's that they see the world a little differently," Dr. Varma said.

According to Dr. Varma, children with color blindness can benefit from different kinds of lesson plans or homework to demonstrate their understanding of concepts despite their inability to see colors correctly. "That needs to start early on because labeling a child as not smart or bright enough is a huge stigma for the child and causes significant anxiety for the parents and family," he added.

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology
The American Academy of Ophthalmology, headquartered in San Francisco, is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons — Eye M.D.s — with more than 32,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three "O's" – ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who has the education and training to treat it all: eye diseases, infections and injuries, and perform eye surgery. For more information, visit www.aao.org.

AboutOphthalmologyOphthalmology, the official journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology publishes original, peer-reviewed, clinically applicable research. Topics include the results of clinical trials, new diagnostic and surgical techniques, treatment methods technology assessments, translational science reviews and editorials.

SOURCE American Academy of Ophthalmology

Mar 12, 2014

PK-12 Ed-Tech Enthusiasts Converged En Masse at First National Conference of the Year

ORLANDO, Fla.– More than 9,000 educators and technology aficionados gathered in central Florida’s Orange County Convention Center Jan. 28-31 for the first education-technology conference of the year: FETC 2014. The 34th annual conference featured dynamic speakers, exhibitors and events designed to provide PK-12 educators and administrators with an unparalleled opportunity to explore different technologies while increasing their familiarity with the latest devices, hardware, software and successful strategies on student technology integration.

“FETC is unlike any other conference,” said Mike Eason, President of Public Sector Events for 1105 Media. “It’s not just about new tech; we want to introduce attendees to these tools for their classrooms while ensuring student success.”

The FETC 2014 Exhibit Hall was filled with 428 exhibitor booths, including industry powerhouses like Google in Education, Insight Systems Exchange, Mediasite by Sonic Foundry, Scantron, Lenovo, NetApp, Sony, Aver and Edmodo. However, the focus of the Exhibit Hall was not just to showcase innovative new products, but to train teachers one-on-one on how to use it to benefit students.

“This year, FETC’s Exhibit Hall included an Incubator Pavilion,” said Eason. “This feature created exposure for more than 25 emerging ed-tech start ups and promoted an engaging atmosphere where attendees could learn first-hand about pioneering technologies and how to use these technologies to encourage and enhance learning.”

The Exhibit Hall also featured Lenovo’s $25,000 classroom makeover giveaway. The prize package included 30 Lenovo laptops powered by Intel Core i3® processors, Intel-sponsored coaching and a package of licenses and software to power productivity in the classroom. FETC registrants were eligible to participate in the giveaway by visiting and scanning their badges at select booth locations.

The more than 9,000 attendees made this one of the largest FETCs in several years.

“Clearly, this is a sign that political and administrative leaders are recognizing the importance and value of professional development for our nation’s educators – especially with classroom technology evolving as quickly as it is,” said Eason.

FETC maintained its reputation as a cutting-edge conference by featuring sessions targeting the hottest topics, such as game-based learning, mobile learning and security. This year’s schedule featured 220 concurrent and BYOT sessions.

FETC 2015 will be January 20-23 at the Orange County Convention Center. For more information, please visit www.fetc.org.

1105 Media is based in Chatsworth, Calif., with primary offices throughout the U.S. and more than 350 employees. The company was formed in April 2006 by Nautic Partners LLC, Alta Communications and President and CEO Neal Vitale.

Designed by teachers for teachers, and specific to teachers and administrators grades K-5, this inaugural conference provides an opportunity for teachers to discover new, effective strategies to transform their classroom, align with the standards, maximize student learning, and apply best practices.

The conference's subtitle "Practical Strategies in an Era of High Expectations," appropriately reflects the rigor, teachable moments, and standard-meeting tactics illustrated within the event to elevate students' academic achievement. Expert presenters will provide fresh instructional strategies to implement the standards, further distill content within them, and ensure educator comfort with them so solutions can be delivered confidently upon return to the classroom.

"More than ever, educators need highly effective, hands on strategies that they can easily implement in their classroom. Reading, Writing, Math and More is a conference that targets best practices and common core standards, while empowering educators and administrators with the tools they need for success.," explains Kim Breton, SDE's National program planner. "SDE believes that educators have the most important job in the world, and we want to support educators by providing a professional development experience with top notch presenters who will deliver amazing content that teachers are telling us they want. "

All sessions are designed to meet the biggest challenges educators are experiences in the classroom today, including:

HIGH FIVE! Fifty Nifty Centers You Can Create in 5 minutes

Six-Trait Writing: A Framework for Writing Success in the Differentiated Classroom

The conference is designed for teachers and administrators alike. With a deliberate focus on interactivity, learning in action, and technology integration, teachers will leave excited to infuse their teaching with new and innovative ways to elevate students' academic achievement. Administrators will find sessions devoted solely to them and centered around issues such as walkthroughs, teacher evaluation, and leadership best practices. A new "Ask the Expert" session with Principal Baruti Kafele offers an additional administrator benefit.

"Innovative, interactive and highly engaging sessions are the focus of Reading, Writing, Math & More! With all the demands on educators, this conference was designed to help target key skills while integrating across the content areas, " Breton clarifies. " When planning the event, the focus was to give educators and administrators a variety of sessions to choose from, delivered by the very best in the education field, that will reach and teach standards."

The Reading, Writing, Math & More! conference is one of five outstanding national conferences that SDE hosts each summer, divided between Las Vegas and New Orleans. Attendees can realize substantial savings on tuition by registering before SDE's "Early Bird" discount deadline of March 15th, 2014.

About SDE

SDE is one of America's leading providers of professional development for PreK through Grade 12 educators. Through Onsite PD, PD Events, Web-based PD, and PD Resources, the company empowers teachers and administrators across the country with ongoing professional development that is not only research-based, innovative, and rigorous, but also practical, motivating, and fun. All SDE training is presented by the nation's top authors and educational experts, with the goal of creating extraordinary classrooms that prepare students for the evolving demands of the 21st century.

For more information about SDE, educators are encouraged to visit www.sde.com, or to call 1-800-462-1478.

The Summit will take place on Tuesday 8 April, in the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, as part of the 'Junior at MIPTV' special focus on children's and youth programming. The event is sponsored by Shaw Rocket Fund, a Canadian investment fund dedicated to youth-oriented production.

In the context of an ever more competitive kids' TV market facingchanging viewing habits & new format trends, the Future of Kids' TV Summit will bring together 80 creative strategists from the children's entertainment sector, who will address the key issues facing the industry and attempt to map out its future direction. This high-level think-tank will feature influential visionaries who will share their experiences and insights in a series of fast-paced presentations. Participants will then be invited to brainstorm in small groups, guided by moderators.

The first confirmed Summit keynote speaker is Yoni Bloch, CEO and Co-Founder of Interlude, a digital media company that designs, develops, markets and enables the creation of interactive videos. The company has already built a rich history of interactive video storytelling and helped some of the world's leading entertainment and corporate brands leverage interactive video, including Shell, MAC, Subaru, Disney Music Group, Intel and Sony Music Nashville. Interlude also collaborates with major music artists and created Bob Dylan's internationally acclaimed interactive music video for "Like A Rolling Stone."

"I'm thrilled to be present at the Future of Kids' TV Summit to discuss how content creators can create a digital playground for children," said Bloch. "Interactive videos invite kids to continually engage and shape the story differently each time. I look forward to exploring new ways for the entertainment industry to help kids become active participants instead of passive viewers."

The Future of Kids' TV Summit is the latest in MIPTV's established line-up of forward-looking events, following on the heels of the International Drama Coproduction Summit and the Digital Minds Summit. These forums are now recognized by key industry executives as must-attend events in their business agenda.

"Given MIPTV's track record of organising thought-leadership events, it was an obvious move to kids' TV. The sector has to be really forward-thinking to keep up with the tastes and habits of children, who are natural early adopters. The Summit will be a valuable complement to MIPTV which attracts over 2,500 kids' entertainment executives from over 100 countries," said Laurine Garaude, Reed MIDEM's Television Director.

Other key kids-oriented events during MIPTV 2014 include the Co-production Marketplace: Kids' TV Co-production with Asia, on Tuesday 8 April. This targeted matchmaking session offers a unique opportunity for buyers to discover new kids' content currently in development, and to meet producers from across Asia(China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Philippines, India, Indonesia, etc.).

Elsewhere at MIPTV 2014, on Wednesday 9 April,MIP Digital Fronts features new international screenings for original online video, with a special emphasis on kids' content. Aimed at digital entertainment executives, MIP Digital Fronts will be the first international digital content marketplace for the production, distribution and acquisition of high-quality original content produced exclusively for online audiences. The first Founding Partner to be announced is YouTube.

About MIPTV – Founded in 1963, MIPTV is the annual international market and creative forum for content on every screen. It brings professionals from the global TV and online content industry to Cannes, France, for four days of exhibition, conferences, screenings and networking. It is a key market for buying and selling content and early-stage content development. MIPCube constitutes a special programme exploring tech and creative approaches with the community re-inventing the content experience within MIPTV. The weekend prior to MIPTV, MIPDoc and MIPFormats constitute a two-day showcase for non-fiction and unscripted programming. In 2013, MIPTV celebrated its 50th anniversary. www.miptv.com

About Reed MIDEM – Founded in 1963, Reed MIDEM is a leading organiser of professional, international tradeshows. Reed MIDEM events have established themselves as key dates in professional diaries. The company hosts MIPTV, MIPDOC, MIPCOM, and MIPJUNIOR for the television and digital content industries, MIDEM for music professionals, LeWeb Paris and London for internet forward-thinkers, MIPIM, MIPIM Asia, MIPIM UK and MAPIC for the property and retail real estate sectors.www.reedmidem.com

About Reed Exhibitions - Reed Exhibitions is the world's leading events organizer, with over 500 events in 41 countries. In 2012 Reed brought together seven million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas,Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa and organized by 34 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 44 industry sectors with trade and consumer events and is part of the Reed Elsevier Group, a world leading provider of professional information solutions. www.reedexpo.com

SOURCE Reed MIDEM

Jan 8, 2014 09:00 ET

Million Women Mentors Launches National Movement to Mobilize One Million Mentors of Girls & Young Women in STEM Education and Careers

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Million Women Mentors (MWM), a ground-breaking collaborative effort designed to engage one million science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) mentors, launches today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The initiative aims to educate and empower girls and young women to actively pursue STEM education and careers. In conjunction with National Mentoring Month, MWM has constructed a vast network of 13 corporate sponsors, and more than 40 partner organizations that are dedicated to cultivating multiple pathways of mentoring to bolster girls' confidence and increase access to professionals working in the STEM field. Collectively, these public-private entities represent more than 18 million women and girls.

Inasmuch, young girls and women are less likely than their male counterparts to work in STEM fields. In fact, just 24 percent of women work in STEM fields. The good news is that women in STEM careers earn92 cents for every dollar male-STEM counterparts earn versus 75 cents in other fields. What's more, 80 percent of the fastest growing occupations in the United States depend on mastery of mathematics and scientific knowledge and skills.

MWM is an initiative of STEMconnector®, the national organization that works closely with corporations and thousands of entities to assist in STEM best practices and smart STEM investments.

"We have the responsibility as a country to move the needle on girls and young women in STEM careers from 24 percent of our current workforce to 50 percent," said Edie Fraser, CEO of STEMconnector® and Co-Founder of Million Women Mentors.

Today's launch includes the debut of the website (www.millionwomenmentors.org) that will be developed in phases with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The first phase will include a nationwide call to action to capture and pledge commitments from individuals, organizations and companies that have an interest in mentoring. In the second and third phases, the website will be enhanced with matching capabilities to pair mentors with mentees in STEM fields. Additionally, the site will recognize those with model mentoring programs and learning resources.

"STEM careers offer women and girls the opportunity to engage in some of the most exciting realms of innovation. TCS believes we collectively need an all hands on deck approach, clearing hurdles as women navigate careers in STEM, and paving the way towards realizing greater equality and economic success,"said Surya Kant, Tata Consultancy Services' President for North America, UK & Europe. "We are proud to be a Founding Partner of MWM and pledge our commitment to make mentoring accessible to girls and women across the nation, especially those from underrepresented minorities."

"As a proud founding partner of MWM, nothing is more important than mentoring and supporting girls and women into STEM careers, especially in the underserved communities. We are thrilled to work in more than 1,400 communities with more than eight million girls," said Karen Peterson, President and CEO of National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) and one of the initiative's founding partners.

"For Accenture, the combination of STEM and women is a natural fit," said Jorge Benitez, Accenture's Chief Executive of the United States and senior managing director of North America. "Technology-led innovation is at the heart of our business, and our women are key to our ability to deliver high performance to our clients. Pairing girls and young women with successful role models is a key step to encouraging them to bring their intelligence, talent and ability to STEM careers, and we are pleased to be part of this important initiative."

"It's incongruent that in 2013 women accounted for 57 percent of bachelor's degrees awarded in the U.S., but STEM accounted for less than 10 percent of all degrees," said Michael Norris, Chief Operating Officer & Market President, Sodexo North America. "Given that by 2020, 81 percent of new workforce entrants will be women or minorities, at Sodexo we hear a call to action today to mentor and prepare girls and young women for unbridled success in tomorrow's demanding global marketplace, and are excited to support this critical STEM careers imperative."

"We need to do more than just tell young girls that they can be engineers, rocket scientists, or computer programmers. Mentors can inspire girls and give them an insider's view of what it's like to work in STEM. That's why AAUW fully supports this new initiative, which complements our ongoing efforts to empower women and girls as innovators and leaders in science and math. Career options in STEM disciplines are endless, but we won't reach our full potential as a nation until women and underrepresented groups are fully included," said Linda D. Hallman, CAE, AAUW Executive Director and CEO.

MWM is the collective action of 42 national partners (as of January 8, 2014). The four founding partners are STEMconnector®, National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP), MentorNet, and NPower. Lead partners include The National 4-H Council, Girls Inc., The Manufacturing Institute, MENTOR, Teach for America, AAUW, Great Minds in STEM, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), ​Business and Professional Women's Foundation (BPW), National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), YWCA, Junior Achievement, Sally Ride Science, SkillsUSA, Girl Scouts of the USA, Lean In, US News & World Report, Diversity Woman, Diplomatic Courier, Enterprising Women, Discovery Communications, National Utilities Diversity Council (NUDC), National Women's Political Caucus, eWomen Network, Girlstart, Global WIN, Innovate+Educate, My College Options, National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE), US 2020, Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN), Computer Clubhouse Network, LATINAstyle, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Success in the City, Arizona State University, and Nepris.

The launch includes several VIP speakers, partners, and an original song by GRAMMY award winner Tena Clark. Television star and author Hill Harper will also attend the launch event. To further elevate the importance of mentoring girls and young women in STEM, all MWM partners and sponsors will highlight part of their organizational efforts related to girls and young women, mentoring and STEM during January, in conjunction with National Mentoring Month. In addition to events and partner efforts from these entities, MWM will also engage support from women Senators through mentor/mentee luncheon and reception to be held March 5. For the most updated calendar of events, please go to www.MillionWomenMentors.org.